After his recent successful three-month training camp in China, one of the leading Zimbabwe badminton players Thabani Mathe is now eyeing the upcoming 32nd Fajr Iran International Challenge.
The competition will take place in Tehran, Iran from January 30 to February 4 with countries like China, Indonesia, Turkey, Japan and India expected to be part of the event.
This competition is an international open which is held in Tehran, Iran annually where badminton players across the world converge to showcase their talent.
Mathe undertook the training camp from September 19 to December 19 and believes that it was an eye opener on a lot of areas that need to be mastered in the badminton industry.
"The training camp was very fruitful and I'm much more refreshed than I could've possibly hoped for, being the only international player to have been enrolled successfully during that period," Mathe told The Sports Hub.
"I learnt a lot from some of the finest players in China at the Sichuan Badminton Training Centre which harbours and nurtures the top badminton players in both the Sichuan Province and China as a whole. Also, just to be part of some vast calibre of talented individuals in arguably the best training centre I have ever been in for those 3 full months was really fulfilling," said Mathe.
"My greatest improvement is definitely the self belief and confidence in my ability above all other aspects. It is paramount for any professional athlete to have the utmost confidence in what they do and how they perform, especially when the odds are constantly stacked against you," he said.
Besides gunning for the upcoming 32nd Farj Iran International challenge, Mathe is also hoping for an Olympic qualification which is one of the biggest dreams for most sports personnel.
"I'm beginning my ascent into the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour and also gunning for Olympic qualification, both which are incredibly heights that I'm adamant to reach, and with all that in mind the last thing any athlete would want is to have to battle him/herself first before tackling the best in the world," he said.
Among his achievements, Mathe has two All Africa Schools Championship Bronze Medals, six Zimbabwe Open Titles, five Sunrise Open Club Championships and five Eagle Wings Open Badminton Championships.
"For all upcoming competitions I'm obviously aiming to finish on top and with increased match performance, I don't see that as an obstacle I can't overcome. Furthermore I aim at attaining as many points as I can with every tournament I compete in to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics whose qualifying closing dates are at the end of May," said Mathe.
